SBUX vs MCD Stock Comparison

Starbucks and Mcdonalds Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SBUX Starbucks Corp
$103.04 +8.6% 1M +18.1% 1Y
Market cap
$118.61B
P/E
59.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.34B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
MCD Mcdonalds Corp
$249.47 +5.5% 1M -19.5% 1Y
Market cap
$178.06B
P/E
20.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$27.70B
Div. yield
0.03%
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
8 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Mcdonalds leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Mcdonalds 8, Starbucks 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSBUXMCDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $118.61B $178.06B MCD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 59.8x 20.3x MCD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 41.9x 18.8x MCD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.5% +6.3% MCD
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.2% 31.7% MCD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 31.4% 25.9% SBUX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 2.6x SBUX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +18.1% -19.5% SBUX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.9%/yr +0.3%/yr MCD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.6% 19.9% MCD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 34/100 50/100 MCD

Percentile Scorecard

SBUXMCD

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisSBUXMCD
Valuation 6 #47 of 50 18 #41 of 50
Growth 17 #39 of 47 39 #29 of 47
Profitability 69 #15 of 46 100 #1 of 46
Financial Health 42 #30 of 51 44 #29 of 51
Shareholder Returns 34 #22 of 33 47 #18 of 33
Overall 34 50
  • SBUX ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • MCD ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodSBUXMCDSPY
1 month +8.6%+5.5% -0.2%
3 months -0.1%-8.6% +3.9%
6 months +5.9%-14.7% +8.2%
Year to date +22.4%-18.4% +12.9%
1 year +18.1%-19.5% +12.3%
3 years +12.0%-2.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +3.8%-0.8% +23.3%
5 years -9.0%+1.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year -1.9%+0.3% +10.9%
10 years +92.3%+122.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year +6.8%+8.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSBUXMCDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.6%19.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.0%20.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.53-0.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.66-0.98 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.2%-32.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.1%-26.9% -1.2%
52-week high $108.55$341.06 $779.14
52-week low $79.60$230.86 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleSBUXMCD
P/E now vs peer median 59.2xmedian 20.6x 20.1xmedian 20.6x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 1.2x 6.4xmedian 1.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 27.4xmedian 13.3x 14.3xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.3xmedian 17.3x 23.9xmedian 17.3x
P/B now vs peer median -15.3xmedian 3.1x -172.6xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median -3.08median 1.07 4.68median 1.07

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsSBUXMCD
Revenue $38.34B $27.70B
Gross profit – $24.86B
Operating income $2.98B $12.80B
Net income $1.98B $8.79B
Free cash flow $3.64B $7.39B
EPS (diluted) $1.73 $12.36
Cash & equivalents $3.45B $822.00M
Total debt $13.28B $162.65B
Shares (diluted) 1.14B 711.10M
Enterprise value $106.23B $172.88B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricSBUXMCD
P/E 59.2x 20.1x
P/FCF 32.3x 23.9x
P/Operating cash flow 23.6x 15.6x
P/S 3.1x 6.4x
P/B -15.3x -172.6x
P/Tangible book -15.0x -172.6x
EV/EBITDA 27.4x 14.3x
EV/EBIT 42.7x 16.8x
EV/Revenue 3.3x 7.8x
EV/FCF 34.9x 29.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.5x 19.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.08 4.68

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSBUXMCD
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.5% 6.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.1% 4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 5.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 4.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -24.9% 7.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -17.8% 5.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -24.7% 4.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -19.4% 3.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -24.9% 5.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -19.2% 4.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1.7% 15.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.2% 9.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 61.6% 18.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 8.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSBUXMCD
Gross margin – 89.7%
EBITDA margin 12.1% 54.4%
Operating margin 7.8% 46.2%
Pretax margin 8.0% 40.4%
Net margin 5.2% 31.7%
FCF margin 9.5% 26.7%
Operating cash flow margin 13.0% 40.9%
Return on equity – –
Return on assets 6.7% 14.6%
Return on invested capital 31.4% 25.9%
Return on capital employed 15.3% 22.9%
Asset turnover 1.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.5x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSBUXMCD
Debt / assets 46.9% 66.5%
Debt / equity -1.7x -39.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 2.6x
Debt / FCF 3.6x 5.4x
Liabilities / assets 127.1% 101.7%
Equity / assets -27.1% -1.7%
Interest coverage 5.4x 7.9x
Current ratio 0.8x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.14 4.59

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSBUXMCD
Dividend yield 2.4% 3.0%
Net buyback yield -0.1% 1.2%
Shareholder yield 2.3% 4.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 59.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 70.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 4.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 6.3%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusSBUXMCD
Forward P/E 41.9xFY2026 18.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.46FY2026 $13.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.5%FY2026 +8.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.5% +6.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $35.66BFY2026 $29.23BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.1%FY2026 +8.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.4% -4.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSBUXMCD
Held by institutions 85.6% 74.2%
Institutions holding 2,400 3,475
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.9% +0.4%
Institutions buying 1,097 1,535
Institutions selling 991 1,486
Buyers to sellers 1.11 1.03

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

SBUXMCD
SBUX 1.00 0.34
MCD 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SBUX and MCD?

Mcdonalds (MCD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Starbucks (SBUX) $118.61B, Mcdonalds (MCD) $178.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, SBUX and MCD?

Mcdonalds (MCD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Starbucks (SBUX) 59.8x, Mcdonalds (MCD) 20.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mcdonalds (MCD) is cheapest (Starbucks (SBUX) 41.9x, Mcdonalds (MCD) 18.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mcdonalds (MCD) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Starbucks (SBUX) +4.5%, Mcdonalds (MCD) +6.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mcdonalds (MCD) has the highest net margin (Starbucks (SBUX) 5.2%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 31.7%). On return on invested capital, Starbucks (SBUX) leads (Starbucks (SBUX) 31.4%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 25.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Starbucks (SBUX) returned the most: Starbucks (SBUX) +18.1%, Mcdonalds (MCD) -19.5%. Over five years, Mcdonalds (MCD) compounded fastest (Starbucks (SBUX) -1.9%/yr, Mcdonalds (MCD) +0.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Starbucks (SBUX) 0.00%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 0.03%. Starbucks (SBUX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mcdonalds (MCD) has been the steadiest (Starbucks (SBUX) 27.6%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 19.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do SBUX and MCD move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.34, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, SBUX and MCD?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Mcdonalds (MCD) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.